Erle E. Bartley (October 23, 1922 – February 10, 1983) was an Agricultural Science Professor at

Kansas State University Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant college in 1863 and was the first public instit ...

from 1949 until his death in 1983. He was known for his many agricultural inventions, especially those regarding

ruminal tympany Ruminal tympany, also known as ruminal bloat, is a disease of ruminant animals, characterized by an excessive volume of gas in the rumen. Ruminal tympany may be primary, known as frothy bloat, or secondary, known as free-gas bloat. In the rumen, fo ...

(ruminant bloat) problems. He invented the bloat preventative poloxalene, also known as "Bloat Guard".

Early life

Erle Bartley was born October 23, 1922 in

Bangalore Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

to British parents. He completed his early education in India and England, before moving to

Iowa State University Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State became one of the n ...

where he earned his

M.S. A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast to ...

in 1946 and his

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is a ...

in 1949 under Dr. Emerson Bird. Immediately after his Ph.D. he took a position at Kansas State University, where he worked until his death.

Career

Bartley's research focused on ruminant bloat, legume bloat, and the utilization of

ammonia Ammonia is an inorganic compound of nitrogen and hydrogen with the formula . A stable binary hydride, and the simplest pnictogen hydride, ammonia is a colourless gas with a distinct pungent smell. Biologically, it is a common nitrogenous was ...

in the

rumen The rumen, also known as a paunch, is the largest stomach compartment in ruminants and the larger part of the reticulorumen, which is the first chamber in the alimentary canal of ruminant animals. The rumen's microbial favoring environment allow ...

. He was best known for his work on preventative treatments for ruminant bloat, including poloxalene and the antibiotic lascalocid. He also researched ammonia toxicity in ruminants as well as the interactions between

carbohydrate In organic chemistry, a carbohydrate () is a biomolecule consisting of carbon (C), hydrogen (H) and oxygen (O) atoms, usually with a hydrogen–oxygen atom ratio of 2:1 (as in water) and thus with the empirical formula (where ''m'' may or ma ...

s and

urea Urea, also known as carbamide, is an organic compound with chemical formula . This amide has two amino groups (–) joined by a carbonyl functional group (–C(=O)–). It is thus the simplest amide of carbamic acid. Urea serves an important r ...

in the ruminant digestive system.

Death

He suffered a fatal

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

in his office on February 10, 1983.

Honors

Bartley was awarded various honors in his field of agricultural science. These include the American Feed Manufacturers' Award for Dairy Cattle Nutrition (1957), the Kansas State University Outstanding Graduate Faculty Research Award (1963 to 1964), the

Gamma Sigma Delta Gamma Sigma Delta (), or more fully, the Honor Society of Agriculture, Gamma Sigma Delta, is an honor society for Agriculture students and those in related fields. Founded in 1913, it is the oldest and largest such society for its academic discipl ...

Distinguished Faculty Award (1970), the Kansas Interbreed Dairy Cattle Council's Dairy Leader Award (1975), the Borden Award for Dairy Cattle Nutrition Research (1975), the National Agri-Marketing Association's Award for Agricultural Excellence in Science (1981), the Morrison Award presented by the American Society of Animal Science (1981), and the

Phi Kappa Phi The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi (or simply Phi Kappa Phi or ) is an honor society established in 1897 to recognize and encourage superior scholarship without restriction as to area of study, and to promote the "unity and democracy of education ...

Scholar Award (1982).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bartley, Erle British people in colonial India 1922 births 1983 deaths British scientists Iowa State University alumni Kansas State University faculty British emigrants to the United States